Danielle's 1st Birthday
by Suzie1989
Summary: What could have happened after Danielle got run over. Will mainly focus on Ronnie/Danielle attempting to establish a proper relationship.
1. Back to Work

Danielle woke up to the sun streaming through a gap in the curtains; she rolled over and glanced at the clock, 10:37. She leaped out of bed, well as much as her injuries would allow her, and threw on some clean clothes. She ran towards the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

She ran down the stairs and headed for the kitchen, "Morning Charlie. Why didn't Stacey wake me?" Whilst Danielle poured a glass of juice Charlie put some bread into the toaster and opened the fridge to get the butter.

"She said you worked so hard yesterday and that as you were sleeping so peacefully she decided to leave you in bed. She was happy enough to open the stall by herself." As he finished explaining the toast popped, he buttered it and handed it to Danielle.

"Really, Stacey never likes opening the stall by herself." Danielle was shocked, not at her friend's kindness but more at the fact that she was willing to get up and go to work that early without any persuasion.

"Yeah she was so pleased to have you back that she wanted to let you get your rest. I reckon she wants to go out clubbing with you tonight." Charlie laughed, "That girl never seems to stay in anymore."

"Yeah I know. Thanks for breakfast but I think it's about time I go help Stacey. See you later." Danielle placed her empty glass in the sink and walked towards the front door, deciding not to bother with a jacket; it was the 19th of June after all.

Charlie shouted after her. "Bye, oh hang on Danielle I want to ask you something."

Danielle stopped and turned around, "Is something wrong?"

"I just wanted to know if you knew what you would like for your birthday."

"Um, I can't think of anything at the moment, can I get back to you?"

"Sure. I'll see you later." Charlie picked up his paper and headed to the living room as Danielle left the house.

_Meanwhile over at R&R_

Ronnie was at her desk filling in some forms with one hand while holding the phone to her ear with the other. "Jack, I don't care how much it costs this is my daughter's birthday and I want the whole party to be perfect so just sort it. And don't forget to keep everything under wraps, I want it to be a complete surprise."

With that I hung up and decided to take a break from work, it was almost lunch after all. I tried calling Danielle; I still can't believe that my baby is alive. I wanted to see if she wanted to meet up, while the phone was ringing I thought about our relationship, it had been extremely difficult to start with but Danielle was finally beginning to trust me once more. She wasn't picking up so I left a short message on her voicemail, "Danielle, its Ronnie I was thinking maybe we could have lunch today. Let me know either way. Love you."

I got back to work and waited for Danielle to call back. By twenty past twelve I decided to call Danielle again. Once more it went to voicemail. I started to worry as usually she answered her phone by the fourth ring.

I had to know that she was okay so I picked up my bag, locked the office door, then the club door and headed off to search for Danielle. I wondered what could have possibly happened. Had Danielle had an accident? Was she pushing me away like I done to her when she first arrived on the square? Could Archie have come back? He had just disappeared shortly after the wedding; nobody knew where he had been all this time.

I spotted Stacey at her stall trying to make a sale to somebody I didn't know but the customer continued on her way, "Oh yeah well you've go no taste anyway, those shoes are absolutely minging!" I just laughed, typical Stacey, if she doesn't get what she wants then she'll turn on you.

I decided to intervene before the woman could comment back and a slanging match started in the middle of the square. "Stacey, have you seen Danielle today?"

"Yeah she's in the caf getting some tea and a couple of sandwiches for lunch, why you looking for her anyway?"

I felt relieved on hearing that Danielle was okay but I still had to see her for myself. I almost lost her for the third time a couple of months ago and I wasn't going to let anything separate us now. I vowed there and then that even if she never forgives me I will be there to look out for her. "She wasn't answering her phone and I was getting worried about her."

"Right, well I don't know anything about that you'll need to ask her, now can I get back to work?" Stacey asked shortly. She still thought of me as the 'ice queen' of Walford but as long as she was friends with Danielle I no longer cared.

"Will do, thanks Stacey." I smiled and headed for the café. I was excited to see Danielle, my heart was racing. My heart always sped up when I thought about Danielle, I couldn't believe how she made me feel, in my entire life I hadn't loved anyone as much as I loved her.

I stopped when I reached the café door, why was I so nervous. Getting my baby back had tore down my icy exterior, I was exposed to the world and now the only thing I wanted in the entire universe stood beyond that door. I prayed that she had finally reached a decision about forgiving me for all the harsh things I said to her.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. There she was…

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**Well what do you think? Really sorry for taking so long to publish this but my laptop broke just over a week ago and I lost nearly everything so I had to redo everything that I had already wrote. I hope to update by tommorow. Please review. X  
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	2. Today's the Day

**Just to quickly explain this is a flashback, don't want to confuse anybody.**

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Danielle tentatively walked down the stairs of the club. She was so nervous, today was the day. Today was the first day she was meeting with Ronnie without anybody else around. It had been over three weeks since the wedding and she had just been released from hospital four days ago. Today she could finally tell Ronnie how she felt and even if she could never forgive Ronnie she could at least listen to what she had to say.

She paused before she reached the bottom step, it would be so easy to run away and never see Ronnie or any of the Mitchells again. She quickly realised that she had tried to run away from her problems before and ended up getting run over by Janine. So she walked down the last step and headed straight towards the bar, where Ronnie sat with what looked like a vodka. Danielle almost laughed internally, she should have known Ronnie would never change.

Ronnie turned around to see her daughter standing before her. She drunk in every little detail about Danielle, from the signature adorned cast on her wrist to the graze on her cheek. From her short blond hair to how her big toe on her left foot was sticking out of the cute pink sandals that she wore. Ronnie's face burst into a wide smile when Danielle pushed her fringe out of her face.

"What?" Danielle was wondering why Ronnie was staring at her so seriously and then she suddenly appeared happy, was that why she smiled, was Ronnie happy? If so, did it have anything to do with her?

Ronnie broke her train of thought. "Nothing important really, I just noticed, you push your hair away the same way that I do. Here have a seat." She gestured toward the bar stool next to her. As Danielle sat down Ronnie continued to smile but Danielle just looked confused.

Did she really want to be like Ronnie in any way, even if it was such a small insignificant thing? She brushed it off for the moment, this was going to be a long afternoon if she took every comment that came from Ronnie so seriously.

"So, Danielle are you feeling any better?" Ronnie internally slapped herself, she felt like a complete idiot. She had been run over and has only just been released from hospital, of course she wasn't feeling better. "I'm sorry…"

Danielle cut her off before she could finish "Are you?" She sounded cold, even to herself. She immediately felt guilty, she didn't want to come off as unforgiving. She wanted Ronnie to know that she was grateful. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's fine, anyway it was a stupid question." Ronnie didn't know what else to say.

An uncomfortable silence quickly fell between the two of them and Danielle soon found herself staring at Ronnie. She found herself wondering if Ronnie had changed could she forgive her for all the hurt. "So um, thank you."

It was now Ronnie's turn to be confused. "What on earth are you thanking me for, I haven't done anything." She felt guilty when she realised that she had only ever hurt Danielle but she had never truly been there for her.

"Stacey told me how you stayed with me in the ambulance and how you came to the hospital every day." Danielle paused for a moment. "I'm sorry that you never got in to see me."

"It's okay, I mean your father wanted to be with you. And then there was Stacey and the rest of the Slaters, and all your friends from back home. Besides, those visiting hours were not long enough for everybody to get in to see you." Ronnie cut herself off when she realised she was babbling.

Danielle decided to tell her the truth, after all that was what today was about wasn't it, today was about the truth. "Ronnie, that's not quite true. I, I knew that my dad wouldn't leave so I asked… I asked Stacey to stay so that you couldn't come in. I couldn't deal with anything else. I couldn't deal with …"

"Ronnie cut her off, "You couldn't deal with me." Her voice gave her away, she was hurt. Danielle wasn't sure if this was genuine so she looked into Ronnie's eyes and she automatically saw that Ronnie did care. Danielle saw how much she wanted to be there for her. She saw that Ronnie wanted to make up for the hurt. But Danielle wasn't sure if it would be enough.

Again there was an uncomfortable silence, except this time it was Ronnie who broke it. "So, um, do you want a drink?"

"Could I possibly get a glass of orange. I have to take my painkillers." Danielle reached for her bag while Ronnie finished her original drink.

"Uhh." Danielle rapidly glanced up and shot Ronnie a questioning look, terrified that the noise of disgust was aimed at her.

Ronnie caught the strange look on Danielle's face and quickly explained. "Water, I hate plain water. I don't know why I chose to drink it."

Danielle was elated, maybe just maybe Ronnie could and would change. It was a small thing but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Ronnie soon returned with an orange juice for Danielle and a lemonade for herself. She sat back on her stool and place Danielle's drink before her. She watched for a minute as Danielle tried to open her bottle of tablets, when it was clear that she had no hope of getting them open Ronnie intervened. "Here, why don't I get that." It wasn't a question, it was more of a …well Danielle wasn't quite sure whether it was a demand or what but she handed the pill bottle over anyway. Ronnie managed to get the top off in a few seconds and gave the bottle back to Danielle.

"Thanks." Danielle flashed her a quick smile.

"No problem." Ronnie smiled back and watched as Danielle took her tablets. Once she was done Ronnie put the lid back on for her and Danielle put them back in her bag.

"So, how bad is the pain?" Ronnie wasn't sure she wanted to know because she knew that she was the reason her daughter was hurting.

Danielle decided to be completely honest "Well, my wrist isn't that painful but my side still hurts pretty bad." She drank some of her juice.

"What about your head?" Ronnie gestured towards Danielle's head.

Danielle couldn't take it anymore. She had initially felt guilty about preventing Ronnie from seeing her but the anger over Ronnie's past behaviour had slowly crept back and she wanted to have her say. "Ronnie, are we here to make small talk or was there something you actually wanted to talk to me about?"

Ronnie was shocked, she thought things were going okay so far. "Sure, yes, um well I wanted to let you know that aunty Peggy wanted to invite you for dinner but I told her it was your decision. If you don't want to come then that's absolutely fine. Do you want to come?"

The anger was bubbling up inside her, she wanted so much to control it but some of it managed to seep out, "That's it! That's all you have to say to me, you invited me here to ask me if I want to come for dinner." Danielle grabbed her bag and then jumped from the seat. "Ahh." She screamed in pain and unconsciously clutched at her side.

"Baby, are you okay?" Ronnie was worried that Danielle had seriously hurt herself. She was no longer shocked at her daughter's outburst. Of course Danielle had every right to be mad at her. Ronnie knew that she would have to explain her actions. She would have to explain everything.

"DON'T CALL ME BABY!! You have no right to call me that. You gave up that right when you gave me up!"

"Danielle, I'm sorry, okay I won't call you baby. But will you please, please just listen to me. Please let me explain." Ronnie was scared that if she couldn't explain herself to Danielle then she would lose her forever.

"NO! You listen to me for once. All I wanted was you! But YOU made it impossible to let anyone in!" Danielle surprised herself by how loud she had shouted but she was also proud of herself for getting Ronnie to pay attention to what she had to say. It had taken over eight months but she had finally made herself heard.

"I'm so sorry Danielle, I'm sorrier than you can ever imagine but you have to understand. I thought you were dead. My da.. Arch… he took you away from me when you were only two hours old and then he told me you were dead. He said you died when you were little."

Ronnie was pleading with Danielle but she was having none of it. Danielle had heard enough of the Mitchell excuses to last her a lifetime. She thought maybe it was time to leave Walford for good, or at the very least it was time to leave Ronnie behind and get on with her own life.

"Do you know what Ronnie, I don't care anymore. In the past eight months you have hurt me more than I thought was physically or emotionally possible but no more. I'm doing what Roxy told me to do; I am finally standing up for myself and I'm telling you that I don't need you. I thought I needed you but I just wanted you." Danielle brushed past Ronnie and exited the club leaving a speechless Ronnie sitting all alone with tears rapidly clouding her vision.

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**So, slow build up to dramatic ending but don't worry chapter 3 will continue directly on from this one. There will be a surprise in store in chapter 3, pleasant or not I'm not 100% decided on that yet so feedback will be hugely appreciated.**

**Can I just say wow to all the reviews left on chapter 1, I believe that was the most reviews I have ever had for a single chapter so thank you so much everybody. I done my best to reply to everybody but there were some people whom I couldn't so: Madeleine, Lee and Chloe thank you very much. Right, now get reviewing and lets see if we can beat 12 lol.**


	3. The Odd Hero

As soon as Danielle rounded the corner of the club she collapsed into a heap and started crying. She was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe; she didn't notice Jack approaching her. "Danielle, are you alright? What's happened? Where's Ronnie? Is she okay?" He knelt down to the ground and lifted Danielle's chin up so that he could look her in the eye.

Jack knew that Ronnie was meeting with Danielle today as she had warned him to stay away from the club so naturally when he saw Danielle crying he automatically assumed that something had happened to Ronnie.

"Danielle, come on, take deep breaths, in and out, in and out." Danielle takes huge gulps of air and she slowly manages to get her breathing back under control. "That's it, now do you want to tell me what happened?" She wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook her head.

"Okay then, do you want to go to the café or would you like to go somewhere more private?" Once more she shook her head from side to side.

"You got to give me a little more than that." As Jack patiently waited for a reaction he stood up and offered his hand to Danielle which she took, glad for the help as she was convinced that she wouldn't be able to stand by herself

Danielle finally answered "the café's fine".

"To the caf" Jack raised his right arm and pointed in the direction of the café. While he chuckled slightly at his own joke Danielle just smiled meekly. Jack was extremely concerned about both Ronnie and Danielle, he had always remembered Danielle as a bright bubbly girl so to see her so, so … catatonic was very worrying. As they entered the café Jack had only one thought on his mind, 'what the hell happened between Ronnie and Danielle.'

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They had been sitting at a table in the café for the last twenty minutes. As Danielle watched the people come and go, Jack was trying his hardest to get through to her but she had stopped responding altogether.

Jack went through what he knew so far, "So, you went to go meet Ronnie. You guys talked, and then what? Something happened, did she say something? Do something? Did you do something?"

This finally sparked a reaction and Jack soon had Danielle's full attention. "What! No, I didn't do anything."

"Well, I did say something." She paused, was Jack really the right person to be discussing this with?

"Do you want me to go and get Stacey?" Jack could sense that Danielle was having trouble opening up and Stacey was the only person that he could think of who might possibly be able to help.

"NO!" Danielle didn't want Stacey to know how she had behaved. Stacey would probably be proud that she had stood up for herself but she still didn't want her to know how she had run out of the club.

"I just… I kind of shouted at Ronnie. I don't know what came over me, I just exploded at her. I told her I didn't need her and then I ran out." Danielle suddenly looked away from Jack and stared down at the table, she was ashamed of herself. "She didn't do anything wrong. Jack, she was being so kind. She helped me take my tablets and she got me a drink." She stopped talking and looked back up at Jack.

Jack simply nodded at her to continue and then took a drink of his coffee.

Danielle almost hugged her mug while continuing deep in thought "I guess I thought that maybe it was all an act, she was so nice and yet I have only ever seen her act cold towards me and everyone else. Well except for the time…" She trailed off not wanting Jack to know everything about her.

"Danielle, don't take this the wrong way and you can tell me to butt out if you want but do you maybe think that you are telling all of this to the wrong person."

She shook her head. "I can't go back there. After what I said, how can I ever face her again?"

Jack thought for a moment, "Well, maybe you should meet somewhere a bit more neutral."

She silently wondered if there was a single place that hadn't been tainted with horrible memories; this Vic was out as was R&R. They couldn't go to Ronnie's. The Slater's place was where she had cried over Ronnie every night for the best part of a year.

Jack was worried once more; Danielle hadn't said anything for the last five minutes. "Danielle, are you okay?"

"I can't think of anywhere. Everywhere has something bad associated with it." This seemed to send her into another downward spiral. Luckily Jack had an idea which would pull her out.

"How about my place?" He was completely serious.

She looked up, trying to read his motivation for being so nice. She knew that between him and Ronnie he had always been the kinder one but why was he doing all of this. She wasn't able to answer these questions just by looking into his eyes; she would have to ask him. "Jack, not that I'm ungrateful or anything but why are you doing all of this?"

"I care for Ronnie and I want to see her happy." She looked away from him, of course it was about **her**. It was always about her. Danielle could sense the anger coming back but before she could do anything about it Jack continued. "But I also want to see you happy. I saw most of those looks you gave Ronnie before all of it came out and as much as you deny it you clearly want your mum."

"Don't." She warned Jack and he was baffled.

"She doesn't deserve that title. Not yet anyway, she has to earn it" The anger had seeped away again, well mostly

"Okay, I understand but I really do think that you need to be telling all of this to her." Danielle nodded. "And you should listen to what she has to say before you make a decision about the future."

They both sat in companionable silence until Danielle suddenly spoke and managed to startle Jack. "Tomorrow"

He continued to look at her and she understood that she would have to explain further. "I'm not ready to talk to her again today."

"Okay that's fine. Would you like for me to tell her?"

"Please. Can we still use your place? I honestly cannot think of anywhere else that we can go."

"Sure, of course. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't being serious. Now do you want to leave, we have almost been here for an hour."

Danielle nodded her head.

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

She stood up and grabbed her bag from the back of the chair. "I think that I'll manage."

Jack scribbled something down on a napkin and handed it to Danielle "Okay. Well here is my number. You can let me know what time you want to meet Ronnie and I will let her know."

She was headed for the door when Jack stood up. "Danielle. I honestly meant what I said."

She sent him a questioning look, he had said a lot but what was he on about.

"That I want you to be happy. You are nice towards everybody and you don't have an agenda unlike other people and that is a such special quality to have. Never lose that."

Danielle walked back to give Jack a hug, he wrapped his arms around her waist mindful of her broken rib. After a moment she pulled away. "Thank you Jack, for everything."

"Your welcome. Now go on get home, get a good sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."

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**Okay really hope you guys enjoyed it. So the surprise was that Jack wants the best for Danielle, this will be used later on in the fic. So sorry for the long wait but I have been super busy recently. I got a pm from one of the best writers in fan fiction basically kicking my butt into gear and telling me to update so you can all thank her for getting this quicker than I planned lol. Let me know what you think.**


	4. Girlie Nights

"Hey, Danielle you want a drink?" Stacey was in the middle of making a cup of tea when she changed her mind. What she really wanted was a strong drink and a girlie night in with her best friend.

Danielle yelled back. "Just some water, thanks."

A minute later Stacey walked back through to the living room with two drinks in her hand. She handed one of the glasses to Danielle, who quickly took a drink. "Ugh, Stace. I wanted water; I can't drink with those tablets."

"Sorry, I just thought we could have a couple of drinks with a dvd. I didn't realise that you weren't allowed to drink."

Danielle just nodded. "Tell you what Dan, I'll go get you your water and you pick a film. Alright."

"Sure, here you can have this then." Danielle handed Stacey back the drink who then proceeded to down in it in a single gulp. Danielle just shook her head, some things never change. She somberly wished that things _could_ change, that people could change. That one woman in particular could change.

"Oi, I thought you were meant to pick a film."

This pulled Danielle out of her musings and when she looked up she saw Stacey with her hands on her hips attempting to appear angry with her friend but Danielle saw the corner of her mouth starting to curl upwards and she promptly burst into a fit of laughter. This caused Stacey to reach down towards the couch, grab a cushion and hit Danielle with it. She was however very careful not to hurt her or aggravate her injuries. Danielle was fast though and before long a full on war had started.

A few moments later the fight was over almost as quickly as it had began; mostly due to the fact that Danielle was exhausted already. Stacey flopped down next to Danielle with a sigh. "So, are you gonna tell me what's been bugging you all evening?"

Danielle glanced sideways at her best friend, she really didn't want to talk about but she also knew Stacey wouldn't let it go. "Ronnie" Simple, straight to the point just the way Stacey liked it.

Stacey rolled her eyes but luckily for her Danielle never saw. "What's she done now?"

"Nothing, it was my fault." She paused, unsure how much she should reveal to Stacey.

"I'm sure it wasn't you, it was probably her."

"No, Stace, it was me. I shouted at her and then just left her in the club."

"Oh" In all the time they had known each other this was the first time Danielle had seen Stacey speechless. If the situation at hand wasn't so serious Danielle might have giggled.

"But I ran into Jack," Stacey crinkled her nose. "and he said if I wanted that I could meet Ronnie at his place."

"What? Why? What is he gonna get from this?"

"He just wants what is best for me." Stacey shot her a disbelieving look.

"Look, Danielle, I don't wanna shatter your dreams yeah but this is Jack we are talking about."

Danielle started to feel angry once more. "Even if he does have some secret agenda I have to know what she was going to say but everywhere is tainted with bad memories." She stopped, breathless. She had just admitted to herself, as well as Stacey, that she to hear Ronnie's reasons.

"Okay, fine I'm not going to tell you what to do but be careful alright. I don't wanna see you upset again and I certainly don't want anyone to come between us, especially not a tool like Jack."

Danielle nodded and Stacey pulled her in for a quick hug, not something she would normally do but she could tell Danielle needed the comfort. They sat in silence for a while then Stacey suddenly stood up, she stood up so quickly that Danielle wondered if she had been electrocuted. Danielle stared at her.

"I'm gonna go to the minute mart and get us some junk food, you stay here and pick out that DVD already." She put on her shoes and picked up her bag.

"Okay, oh and Stace."

She was already on her way out the door but yelled back, "Yeah, yeah I know. No alcohol, god you'll do anything for a quiet night in." Her laughter was soon cut off by the door slamming.

Although she sat in silence Danielle was fighting an internal battle. She was torn between the hopefully ignorant bliss of trying to forget Ronnie Mitchell for good; or meeting with her once more and this time actually listening to what she had to say.

The war waged for quite some time but luckily the house was empty so there was nobody there to disturb her. She made her decision and fished out the napkin from her jacket. She sent a quick text message before Stacey came bursting through the front door completely weighed down with bags of shopping.

"Jeez, Stace, did you buy the whole shop?"

She feigned hurt, "Well, if we are going to have a night in then I thought we should have loads of food. Besides we need to fatten you up a bit."

Danielle rolled her eyes but Stacey saw this and playfully smacked her on her good arm. They settled in back on the couch and Danielle watched as Stacey began to pull stuff out of the bags. "Right, we've got chocolate, crisps, ice cream, Oreos, lemonade, no alcohol. I even popped into the video store and rented us 'Made of Honour' cause Patrick Dempsey is hot, 'Twilight' cause Robert Pattinson is hot and '17 Again' cause Zac Efron …"

"…is hot." Danielle finished off for Stacey sending them both in a fit off the giggles.

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**Hey guys; I am so, so, so unbelievably sorry for taking so long to update. I was really busy with work for quite a while and then life got crap, I got ill and my stories got neglected. Anyway I hope you can find it in your wonderful hearts to forgive me, even though this chapter is unbelievably terrible. And short lol. **

**And also, I already have the next instalment ready to go :)**


	5. Mocking Bottles?

Meanwhile

Ronnie was sitting in the club with a bottle of vodka in front of her. She had been toying with the idea of opening it for a couple of hours it but at the present moment in time there was a fight going on in her mind. On one side, the familiar harsh, evil voice - the voice that had been present since she was forced to give up her baby- was saying 'open it, drink your troubles away.' and the other voice, the much newer, surprisingly gentle voice was saying 'don't do it, if you even open that bottle you will be letting her down.'

The confliction continued. 'She said she doesn't need you'

'But she also admitted that she wanted you, that could still be true, you have to find out before giving up.'

'She ran away, she left you just like everyone else. They all run cause of your cold heart.' The voice was rapidly becoming malicious and no matter how hard she tried Ronnie couldn't shake that single thought out of her mind. Then the nice voice piped up once more,

' Ah but she came to see you in the first place, surely that must mean something.'

All of a sudden another voice popped into her head. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

Ronnie whispered "Go away Jack"

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear that." Ronnie then realised that Jack was not in her head but he was standing behind her. She turned around and saw that he was standing exactly where Danielle stood earlier, before she basically told her to go to hell.

"I said, go away." She didn't mention that he had just ended the war in her mind. She didn't mention that she was grateful.

"Well, I had some news for you but if you don't want it then fine I'll go." He initiated a staring contest.

"I'm really not in the mood." She broke the conection and turned back to stare at the full bottle that was mocking her.

"Well; it does concern Danielle."

Ronnie snapped back to attention. She turned and faced Jack with a cold, icy stare. "What could _you _possibly have to say concerning _my _daughter?"

"Ron, calm down and let me explain alright." He slowly walked towards her.

"Whatever." Once more she turned back to the bottle knowing that Jack wouldn't leave till he had accomplished whatever it was he came here to do.

Jack sat down and calmly explained about seeing Danielle crying and how he took her to the café. He described how they had talked and how he had given her his number just in case she ever needs anything. He decided not to say anything about offering Danielle his place to meet with Ronnie, at least not until he had heard back from the girl, he didn't want to potentially upset Ronnie even more.

"Jack, I screwed up, I hurt her again."

"She said that she wasn't quite ready to talk to you, she's still pretty angry."

"I still can't believe that she would rather talk to you than me." Ronnie laughed incredulously. "Wait, no, I can actually, I was so cold to her. All of that time and she never said a word, why didn't she just tell me?"

"You know Ron, she hurt you too. she told me how she yelled at you."

"I deserved it though, what kind of mother am I when I can't keep her from getting hurt all the time. Especially when I am the one person causing all the pain"

Jack said nothing, he didn't know what to say. Instead he found himself staring into Ronnie's eyes, they were full of sorrow and pain. They were still red and puffy from crying. He opened his mouth and started to speak again when his phone buzzed. "Sorry."

He smiled slightly as he read the message causing Ronnie to wonder who was making him happy. He put his phone away and stood up. "Look I've got to go but come round to mine for ten tomorrow morning, I've got some stuff about the club I need you to look over."

He left before she could say a word. Ronnie was shocked but not at the same time; _'typical Jack I've just been pouring my heart out to him and he suddenly reverts back to talking about the club. Maybe it's just as well we are no longer together, he doesn't really understand human emotions. Besides I should be focusing on Danielle right now.' _She shook her head in disbelief at Jack, glanced at the bottle and decided to just go home to bed. Hopefully sleep would easily claim her and tomorrow would be a better day; it certainly couldn't be any worse.

Could it?

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**Sorry for another short one. It was originally part of chapter four but the atmosphere in the two scenes were just so different I decided to split them. I promise that the next instalment will have more Ronnie and Danielle.**

**Please forgive my appalling writing, I'm still trying to get back into the rhythm that is eastenders.**

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	6. Will We Ever Get There?

"Look Dan, if you don't wanna go then don't." Stacey snapped. She had been watching Danielle pace back and forth the small sitting room for the last twenty minutes.

"I can't not go. It was me that arranged the meeting." She stopped pacing and turned to look at Stacey. "Anyway, I can't back out, Jack will probably have told her everything by now."

"So, your going then?" Stacey smiled, she knew all along that Danielle would go. No matter how much she denied it some part of her still wanted Ronnie's acceptance.

"Yeah, I'm going." Danielle sat beside Stacey and immediately stood back up again. "I never realised the time, if I don't leave now then I'll be late."

Stacey rolled her eyes. "So what, you have been waiting for months, a few minutes is nothing to her."

"I suppose." She grabbed her bag and Stacey helped her with her jacket, it may be the middle of April but there was a still a chill in the air. Once outside the door Danielle hesitated. Stacey saw this. "Do you want me to come with ya?"

Danielle shook her head. "No, I need to do this by myself."

"Alright, if you're sure. I'll keep my phone out, if you need me just call, yeah."

Danielle nodded in agreement as she walked off; Stacey leant against the doorjamb watching her whilst secretly vowing to take care of her friend no matter what Ronnie Mitchell might have to say about it.

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Ronnie was not a happy woman this morning; this was partially due to the fact that she did not manage to get any sleep. She had kept reliving all the times she had spent with Danielle and with each passing minute the guilt she felt continued to increase. At six-thirty she had given in and got dressed. She ran through the streets for well over an hour then had a shower. Even in the shower she was unable to shake her guilt; she knew that everything about this situation was entirely her fault.

Once she was dressed she debated about going to Jacks. She really just wanted to wallow in her own self-pity but she realised that if she left the flat then there may just be a chance that she would run into her daughter. With that decided she headed out the door at quarter to ten.

Unfortunately she saw neither Danielle nor Stacey. Despite how late in the morning it was she found herself unsurprised with the girls' absence; she assumed that Danielle was avoiding her and of course Stacey was there to comfort her. It took all her self control not to run to the Slaters' and embrace her baby.

She found herself at Jacks in just a few short minutes and it didn't take him long to answer. "Jack."

"Come on in Ron." She followed him through to the kitchen but she didn't see any papers lying around.

"I thought you had something for me?"

"I do. Well, I don't quite have it yet. Sit down."

"Look, I am really not in the mood for this. Whatever you need sorted get your new fling to do it." She huffed and crossed her arms.

Jack was confused. "What fling?" Ronnie said nothing. "Ron, I swear to you that I am not seeing anybody."

"There's no point denying it Jack. I saw the look on your face last night when you read that message." Ronnie tried her best to keep the hurt from her; she couldn't let him know how she still cared for him.

He laughed, which obviously hurt her so he spoke gently. "Have a seat and let me explain."

She complied and sat at the table; he took the seat opposite. "Last night, that was Danielle. She was letting me know that she wanted to meet with you again."

Ronnie's face lit up. "Did she when?"

Jack looked at the clock, 9:53. "At ten."

"What? She wants to meet me now, and you knew this. Why the hell did you ask me to come here then? Where?"

"Here." Ronnie was clearly confused so Jack explained further. "When we talked yesterday Danielle decided if she was going to meet with you again then it needed somewhere neutral and when she couldn't think of anywhere I said that she could meet you here."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, I guess. Um, no offence but you're not staying, are you?"

"Not unless Danielle wants me too. Which I doubt." He answered dryly.

With that they both sat in silence, one patiently waiting for Danielle to arrive. The other was not so patient; she was drumming her fingers on the tabletop and constantly checking the clock. 9:57. 9:58. 9:59. 10:02. 10:04. Each passing minute felt like a lifetime to Ronnie. At 10:13 she broke the silence. "Jack, is your phone on?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Check and see if Danielle has tried to contact you again."

He pulled his phone from his jacket and lit up the screen. He showed it to Ronnie; all it displayed was the date and time. Her face fell. "Sorry Ron. Do you want me to call her?"

"Please." She nodded and couldn't quite believe that she was allowing Jack to play liaison between Danielle and herself.

Jack hung up and placed his phone on the table. "She's not answering."

"Right I'm going over to the Slaters." Ronnie stood up and headed for the front door.

"You can't just go barging round." Jack protested.

"I appreciate the help Jack but I am going to make sure that my daughter is okay. What if something has happened to her? I might not know much about her but I do know that she is never late."

Jack relented. "Alright, would you like me to come with you then?"

"No, I need to do this by myself." Ronnie opened the door and headed off out.

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Ronnie had almost ran to the Slaters. Unfortunately when Stacey finally answered the door she was informed that Danielle had left for Jacks just before ten. Ronnie tried to call Danielle but got no answer; that was hardly a surprise though. Stacey had also called her and got no answer so here she was frantically searching the square for any sign of Danielle. She was reminded of _that night_; the night when she discovered that her father had lied to her yet again. When she discovered that her daughter was alive; she still couldn't believe it so she was saying aloud every chance she got. _Her daughter._

She saw a flash of blonde hair as she walked past the garden. She looked closer and saw Danielle sitting on Arthur's bench.

"Danielle?" Ronnie walked towards the girl and stood in front of the her, tentatively asking. "Can I sit beside you?"

Danielle looked up. "If you like."

Ronnie sat next to her and quietly pondered how to initiate a conversation. She decided that honesty would be best; lies would just make things worse. "So…, Jack told me about your meeting last night. I'm glad that you can talk to him"

Danielle suddenly burst into life "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to talk to him I just…he found me…" She trailed off, her voice getting hoarse. She tried hard not to let Ronnie see the tears.

"Hey, it's okay. Please don't cry. You don't have to explain anything Jack told me what happened. I'm sorry." Ronnie didn't know what else to say. She held her head low, completely ashamed of herself.

Danielle found her voice. "I'm sorry for not coming to Jacks. I intended to, I was actually on my way there but… It was like I couldn't breath and my legs stopped working."

Ronnie looked up and stared into Danielle's eyes. Except this time Danielle didn't break the connection, instead she stared right on back. They mirrored one another. Both displayed hurt, fear, remorse, torment and longing.

"So you came here."

"I don't get it though. I can't be in the same room as you but here we are talking." Danielle sat back and sighed dramatically.

Ronnie mirrored her actions. "You feel trapped." It was a statement rather than a question. "You feel that if you are in an enclosed space with me you cannot breathe. It's how I feel when _he's_ around."

They sat in somewhat companionable silence for a few minutes. "How about we go to the park then?"

Danielle hesitated.

"Only if you want to. We don't have to."

"No, I want to." Ronnie looked sceptical. "Really I do. Come on." Danielle pulled Ronnie up and for just a minute Ronnie imagined Danielle as an eager little girl wanting nothing more than to spend time with her mum.

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**Okay so even though I spent forever on this chapter, due to ill health, I still don't think it's very good. Thank you all so much for the kind reviews and telling me to get on with the next update, these always make me smile. The good news is I'm almost finished with the next chapter; the bad news is that I'm leaving first thing in the morning to go and take care of my gran and her internet access is broke. I'm sorry but I highly doubt that I will be able to update before the end of next week, I hope that you can please forgive me. More good news though is that I can promise that chapter seven is all Ronnie and Danielle.**


	7. No Regrets

"Here you are, one chocolate ice cream with flake." Ronnie sat across from Danielle and handed her the cone.

"Thanks." They sat in silence once more as they ate. Danielle finished first. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For yelling at you last night." Danielle's face was turning red. "For running out. For turning to Jack, I know you aren't exactly friends. For not turning up this morning when it was my idea. For keeping you from me in the hospital. For not telling you who I was right away."

Ronnie gently laid her hand on top of Danielle's and was grateful when she didn't pull away. "That was not your fault. I just wish I was the kind of mo… person that you would want to approach. Well if we are apologising I better get started. Are you comfortable?" She joked attempting to relieve a little of the tension that was building but Danielle merely nodded. "Okay; I am sorry for letting him take you away. I am sorry for becoming so cold. I am sorry for using you. I am sorry for allowing him to manipulate you just like I did. I'm sorry for ever allowing to get an abortion." Danielle winced slightly. "I'm sorry for not being there for you. For not listening to you. I'm sorry for believing him over you. And I am so sorry for saying what I did when I threw you out on the street. I am sorry for everything."

They were both crying. Danielle stood up and for a moment Ronnie was scared that she was going to leave but instead she walked around the table sat down next to Ronnie and embraced her in as tight a hug as she could manage with her injuries.

Finally the tears stopped flowing but Ronnie refused to wipe them away and to Danielle she looked human for the first time. Danielle managed a joke attempting to lighten the mood just like Ronnie had done earlier except this time it actually worked. "Wow, that must have been hard. From what I hear you don't apologise easily." Ronnie retaliated. "Well, just don't tell Roxy. I almost never apologise to her."

"Um, not that I mind but what are you doing?" Danielle was sniffing Ronnie.

Danielle pulled back acting sheepishly. "Sorry; I was just smelling your hair."

"Yeah I got that but why?" Ronnie tried to get Danielle to realise that she was amused not annoyed.

When Danielle saw the grin on Ronnie's face she continued. "When I was younger I always wondered what my birth mother smelled like."

This reference to her as 'birth mother' did not go unnoticed by Ronnie and she smiled gently at _her daughter. _She still couldn't believe that she was here; alive and talking. She was terrified that it was all a wonderful dream and when she woke up Danielle would be gone.

"Ronnie?" Danielle pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah."

"Last night. I lied."

"About what?" Ronnie asked softly while pushing Danielle's fringe away from her eyes.

"I told you that I don't care. I do. I care about you so much but…"

"But it's not going to be easy."

Danielle nodded.

"Okay so we have to decide what it is that we want. I have to prove to you that I can be the person you want me to be. And if you want then we can both fight for each other. Nothing worth having comes easily; I think we both know that."

Danielle was staring at her in complete awe. "How did you become so smart?"

"Well not everybody is fortunate enough to grow up in a loving home and so they have to learn the ways of the world."

"Oh."

"That is the one thing I do not regret."

"What?"

"Ever so eloquent aren't you?" Ronnie smiled again, she couldn't recall ever being this happy in almost twenty years. "No; I don't regret giving you the chance to be loved and taken care of. I will always be grateful that you managed to have such wonderful parents who were able to raise you to be the most amazing, beautiful kind hearted young woman I have ever known." Danielle was blushing and Ronnie was tearing up again.

Ronnie gently cleared her throat and continued. "Don't get me wrong all I ever wanted was you but I knew I wouldn't have been able to give you a proper home. Archie being in your life for only a few months was bad enough, I couldn't imagine how a lifetime of his influence would have affected you."

Danielle hugged Ronnie even tighter not caring in the slightest that it could possibly be aggravating her injuries. As she pressed her head into Ronnie's shoulder her muffled voice could barely be heard. "I don't want to talk about him right now." At Ronnie's protesting she pulled away and continued "Eventually. We will have to talk about everything eventually, in detail, but later. Not now." Ronnie silently nodded in agreement and Danielle settled back into her shoulder.

Time appeared to stop as they sat intertwined , unfortunately for them the world had continued to revolve and the peace was interrupted by the trilling of Ronnie's phone. Regretfully the ringing refused to cease and Ronnie eventually pried herself out of Danielle's grip apologising profusely.

Ronnie groaned inwardly when she saw the caller id and her anguish must have shown on her face as Danielle threw her a questioning glance. She answered as the phone began ringing for the third time. "Jack."

Danielle used her good arm to slap her forehead; she had forgotten all about Jack.

"Yes, I found her thank you for the help." Ronnie paused, obviously listening to Jack. "We are in the park. I'll talk to you later okay." She quickly wrapped up the conversation wanting to return the previous state of complete and utter bliss that she had been sharing with Danielle; unfortunately her hopes were dashed the moment she looked into Danielle's eyes.

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**Thank you so much for the lovely reviews to the previous chapter. As for this one I whipped it up on the bus to my grans so it's not brilliant but hopefully it will help move the story forward. Listen to me I'm beginning to sound like J.K Rowling **_**(I came up with the concept on the train)**_** lol. Hopefully now that I have nothing going on apart from work I might be able to update more frequently otherwise the way I'm going it might not be finished before next year lol. Anyway I think that's quite enough of my late night babbling; hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it's not moving too slow. Even if you didn't like it let me know what you think.**


	8. The Past Starts to Catch Up

**This dedicated to my grandad. It has been seven years to the day since he died and yet the pain does not get any easier.**

**On a lighter note I'm sorry if this chapter is slightly cheesey but I like cheese so put up with it hehe.**

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She quickly wrapped up the conversation wanting to return the previous state of complete and utter bliss that she had been sharing with Danielle; unfortunately her hopes were dashed the moment she looked into Danielle's eyes. They were full of unshed tears and she had taken on the appearance of a lost little girl, the sight left Ronnie utterly terrified. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

Danielle shook her head and looked away from Ronnie. When she finally spoke, she spoke slowly and hesitantly. "It's silly really."

Ronnie gently pulled her face back around so that Danielle could see she was telling the truth. "If something has the ability to upset you then it is _not _silly."

Danielle gulped and continued to look ashamed as she blurted out, "It's just that for some bizarre reason I thought it would just be the two of us but when Jack called I realised that there is always going to be someone or something else interrupting."

Ronnie was speechless for a moment as she deciphered what Danielle had just said. She eventually replied, "Yes, people will continue to go about their lives and as much as we want we cannot actually make time stop…" Even though Ronnie thought it was impossible Danielle's somehow face fell further. "…but when we meet we can at least pretend it does."

Danielle glanced up, intrigued. "How?"

"Very simple. **If** and when you choose to meet me again we turn our phones off." Danielle lit right back up again and even if was only for a moment Ronnie was glad that she was the one making Danielle smile.

Ronnie sat patiently while Danielle was deep in thought. After an infinite time Danielle spoke once more. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course. I'll be free all day." Ronnie was happy that Danielle wanted to meet with her again and she was extremely eager to prove to Danielle that she could change.

"Can we meet here?" Danielle put on a brave face but inside she was scared of being rejected yet again. She honestly didn't think she could handle anymore so she hastily added. "Just cause I found it easier to talk here…" she trailed off. Ronnie simply stared at her with a look of complete adoration. She found her voice, "We can meet anywhere and at any time that you wish."

"We could meet here again tomorrow but…well we've been here for a while now and Stacey is probably wondering where I am so…" Danielle trailed off wanting to leave but at the same time wanting to stay.

Ronnie pulled her into a gentle embrace and then stood up. "Okay well lets head back, I'm sure Jack will be needing me at the club by now anyway."

Danielle nodded and they slowly made their way back to the square. As they were walking Ronnie decided to link her arm with Danielle's. "Just give me a call and let me know when you are ready to meet again, alright."

"Okay." They had almost reached the square by now. Danielle kissed Ronnie's cheek and said "I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye. Don't forget to call."

Danielle laughed. "God, you are worse than a mother." It had slipped out before she could stop it; she now thought _surely she is going to hate me for that!_

Luckily Ronnie had found it hilarious and was now laughing uncontrollably. Danielle stood before as she tried to get her breath back. "Oh don't look so scared it was funny." Danielle stood stock still. "Okay, well maybe it wasn't that funny."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm glad to have such a successful woman for my mother. It's just that before you didn't seem concerned about anything but you just reminded me of…" She once again trailed off unsure how to finish her sentence in a way that didn't upset Ronnie but somehow Ronnie knew exactly what was wrong and didn't press the issue any further.

"But I will call you in the morning." Danielle started to walk ahead but due to her fractured rib she walked slow enough for Ronnie to quickly catch up with her.

"Hey what just happened there?" Ronnie was definitely confused. "I'm sorry for laughing, I honestly didn't think that it would hurt you."

"No, it's alright. I just… well I can't help it but my thoughts keep going back to my parents. The ones who raised me, I mean. For instance all I said was that you were behaving like my mother, which you are but I couldn't help but think about how caring and gentle she was. I guess I need you to know that I will never be able to forget her or my dad and I don't want you turn me away because of that but I will understand." She bit her bottom lip in anticipation of the rejection that was sure to escape Ronnie like fire escaping a dragon but surprisingly it never appeared; it seemed the dragon had been tamed.

Ronnie sighed and sat down at the edge of the bench. It was only now that Danielle realised they where back were they had started; in more ways than one.

"Look Danielle I know that I haven't exactly been the most approachable of people but I want you to realise right now that I have never ever thought that you would simply forget your family just because I now know who you are. As for your mother she sounds like one of the most amazing women who ever lived and I am so very sorry that she is no longer here for you." She looked up and when Danielle looked in her eyes she saw that Ronnie was completely sincere in everything she had just said.

"Okay then." Danielle sat next her, took Ronnie's hand in her own and spoke in a soft voice. "Thank you."

Ronnie flashed her a small smile and opened her mouth but to speak but instead of her voice they heard Stacey's. "Hey what happened to you two then?" She walked up in front of them. "Dani you disappear and won't answer your phone and then you." She turned to Ronnie. "You don't even have the decency to let me know you found her alright. Ugh I swear you're as bad as each other."

Danielle was speechless but Ronnie decided to be funny. "Sorry mum, won't let it happen again."

Unfortunately Stacey wasn't happy and snapped. "Hey that's not funny. Besides when did you get a sense of humour?"

"Stacey" Danielle found her voice and the tone of it was enough to warn her.

"Sorry, but do you realise how worried I was?" She spoke softer now and then addressed Ronnie. "Right, are you finished with her yet cause I need her help."

Ronnie nodded. Danielle stood up and once she said goodbye to Ronnie the two friends walked away leaving Ronnie perched on the edge of the bench in their wake.


	9. Authors Note

This is not a chapter!

It is just a small note to let you know that all of my current stories are on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

Just as my life was slowly beginning to get back on track we were hit by an extremely unexpected death on the 22nd of October. Since then I have been struggling to get my life together once more. I have spent days in front of my computer screen yet nothing will come, I struggle to form a coherent sentence and it has taken me the best part of a day to write this. I fear my muse died along with my cousin.

So I ask of you all to please just bear with me. I will not give up and I hope to get back to my writing one day, please just have patience with me. I am so sorry, I really didn't want to put them on hiatus.

Love,

Suzie. xxx


	10. Interlude

Hey everybody, I am so sorry it took me this long to update. By christmas I basically threw myself into my work and since then have been working 50/60 hours a week. I want to thank you all so much for your support through what was an extremely difficult time for me and I hope you enjoy this chapter even though it is very short and the writing not at all as good as it used to be. Thanks once again. xx

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Stacey was pretty much dragging Danielle back to the house. She unlocked the door, led Danielle towards the kitchen and sat her down at the table. Stacey sat opposite her. "Are you gonna tell me what happened then?"

"Nothing happened, we just went to the park and talked."

"And?"

"What?"

Stacey sighed heavily, this was like pulling teeth. "What did she say? What did you say? There definitely appeared to be some progress."

Twenty minutes later Danielle finished telling Stacey everything that had occurred with Ronnie, "…and so I'm meeting with her tomorrow."

"I'm glad your finally getting what you wanted but just be careful alright Dan." Danielle's face fell so Stacey hastily continued. "It's just.. I don't want to see you get hurt again, especially cause of Ronnie."

Stacey looked confused when Danielle suddenly smiled. "I'm not going to get hurt again."

"You don't know that. Sure she now knows the truth but that's part of who she is, she hurts." Stacey protested.

"I'm not going to get hurt." Danielle repeated herself, still smiling.

"Dan, didn't you listen to me? Ronnie will hurt…" Danielle interrupted her, "Yes, I heard you and no she wont hurt me because that was part of she _was_. She's changed, she's not as cold as she used to be."

Stacey nodded, "Okay, I trust you and if you believe in her then I hope tomorrow goes as well as today."

Danielle took hold of her friends hand and gently squeezed it. "Thank you."

Stacey smiled. "Now, how about we go out tonight?" Danielle opened her mouth to protest but before she could get a single syllable out Stacey continued. "I don't mean clubbing, I just thought maybe a couple of drinks at the Vic, or even R&R if you want."

"The Vic, Ronnie's working tonight and tonight should be about us. I've spent so long wanting to be with Ronnie that I forgot about the people I already had."

"Your talking about me right?" Stacey joked and Danielle nodded.

"Alright then, lets go get ready." Stacey stood up and ran up the stairs. Danielle followed her shouting, "Stacey, I really only want to go out for a few drinks."

"Yeah, but you gotta look good, never know who we'll meet. Now come on we need to dress up that cast." She yelled back. Danielle laughed, shook her head at her best friends antics and proceeded to limp up the stairs.


End file.
